Sunday Snapshot {leader of the pack}

Ky.  The leader of our pack.  My introduction to motherhood.  Overall, thankfully, she's taken it pretty easy on me.

She's quite a girl.  Shy and reserved one minute...

 ...spunky and confident the next. 

Oh, and did I mention that while she loves me, she's a "Daddy's girl" through and through?

From her favored ABC nail polish pattern (usually involving a shade of pink, green and purple) on her toes...

...to her unexplained love of pumpkin guts, she has several quirky things that make her one of a kind.  

At 5 1/2, she is the leader of the pack among her siblings.   It's clear that they look up to her.  They watch her every move and pattern their behavior after hers and her little sister has been known to change clothing in order to coordinate to the funky way she sometimes chooses to dress.

She's such a wonderful big sister.  While I have heard complaints in times of frustration concerning the pee wee, she cherishes her relationship with him.  More often than not, when we need to divide and conquer and therefore split the kids into pairs, she'll suggest that Ian take "the middles" and that I take "the edges."  He may take a lot of our attention right now as he explores his place in the family, but she obviously adores him and relishes in helping watch out for him.

Kindergarten has been difficult in ways for both of us.  Even though an entire quarter of school has passed, I still find myself looking for her during the day.  It simply feels like part of me is missing as I go about the day.  And she finds herself in a bit of a quandary.  On the one hand, she is proud of how much she is learning at school, loves exploring the arts (she is in an arts and science magnet school), and is clearly becoming more and more of a social butterfly.

But on the other hand, she realizes that she is missing out on the daily routine.  The best part of her school day varies depending on which "special" she attends or if Lottie's class is on the playground rotation with hers.  But the worst part has been the same every day so far.  "I missed being with you and Caleb and Darcy and Daniel, Mama."  

My tough nugget, yet tender hearted girl.  We're so alike, this child and I.  

She's always watching.

Always contemplating.

She's so complex, and yet she wears her heart on her sleeve.  

Not a day goes by without me offering thanks to have been given the blessing to call her my daughter.  For this honor I am grateful.

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Don't know what Sunday Snapshot is? Stefanie, the creator, describes it as:

"Sunday Snapshot is just a way to capture that special someone or something right now, because we all know time is fleeting... right now will be a distant memory before we know it!"

To join in, stop by her blog to get details.